THE APPLE 15 



cord or wire should be stretched along two opposite 

 sides of the land and stakes put at the proper 

 distance. Then stretch it from the other two sides, 

 putting a stake at every mark. All measurements 

 must be made horizontally, or on the level, if the land is 

 sloping, otherwise the trees will be of unequal distance. 

 If the distance of twenty or forty feet be laid off on a 

 sloping surface, it will be found that the space between 

 these will be less than between those laid out hori- 

 zontally. 



To lay out an orchard so that the stakes shall 

 be exactly in line is a simple matter, but after digging 

 the holes it is difficult to put 



the trees all exactly where ^g** ^ " u-^ 



the stakes stood unless the Fig 5 Planting Board 

 planting board, Figure 5, is 



used. This consists of any straight-edged board with 

 a notch in the center and one at each end equal distances 

 from the center. It should be long enough to reach 

 across the hole and should be placed on the same side 

 of the stakes for every hole. Before digging the holes 

 for the trees, the planting board is placed with its 

 center notch against the stake, which is then pulled 

 out and put at one of the end notches and another 

 stake put at the remaining end notch. The board can 

 now be removed, the hole dug, taking care not to 

 disturb the stakes or cover them with soil, and when 

 ready to plant the tree, the planting board is placed 

 against the stakes and the tree against the center notch, 

 as shown in Figure 6, which will bring it just where 

 the stake stood. 



DIGGING THE HOLES 



If many trees are to be planted, and it is dry and 

 windy, it is better to dig as many holes during the 

 middle of the day as can be filled with trees during 



